Discount-card.



No. 723.673. PATENTBD MAR. 24, 190'3'.

c. I. HUBER.

DISCOUNT GARD.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. ze, 1902.

UNITED ST1-rmsv PATENT union.

CHARLES J. HUBER, OF TAMPA, FLORIDA.

DISCOUNT-CARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o; 723,673, dated March.- 24, 1903.

Application filed August Z8, 1902. serial No. 121,306. (No model.)y

To all whom t may concern:

Beit known thatLOHARLEs J. HUBER, a citi zen of the United States, residing at Tampa, in the county of Hillsboro and State of Florida, have invented new and useful Improvements in Discount-Cards, of which the following is a specification. Y,

This invention relates to discount-cards.

The card bears the names of business houses--such as individuals, firms, corporations, &c.-and the rates of discount offered by each for cash payments by the holder of the card and also bears serially arranged numbers for indicating the proportion of such rates to which said holder is entitled. Upon the card is a space for the marking thereon of the' name of the holder. In the presentY case the card is made in the forni of a folder, one leaf of which has the namerof the holder,

While the other is provided with the matter above alluded to; but of course the invention is not limited in this respect, for many variations may be adopted within the scope of the claims succeeding the description hereinafter made of one convenient form of the article which I have selected for illustration.

The discount-cards may be and preferably are employed as follows: To each holder of a pass-book is presented by a savings bank a card bearing his name, the name of the bank issuing it, and also the number of the passbook. Upon Yone of the leaves of thercard are placed the names of mercantile establishments, rates of discount which they allow' for cash payments, and serially-arranged numbers for indicating the proportion of such rates to which the holder is entitled, the proportion being regulated by the amount of deposit which the card-holder has at the bank, such proportion or rates being increased as the deposit increases. This tends to encourage saving by the holder of the card and to increase the totals of the bank deposits, and the tradespeople by securing cash for goods sold are much benefitted: e

The card is shown in the accompanying drawings, forminga part of this specification, and in which-- Figure 1 is a face View of the card with the leaves opened. Fig. 2 is a like view of the card with the leaves closed.

in the form of a folder consisting of twoleaves,

5 ando, which may be of any suitable material, such as paper-board. These leaves are boundtogether in any suitable manner, so that they can be folded together to occupy a space approximating that of the average bank pass'-book. The back leaf 6 may be consideredtthe main one, as it is adapted to bear the names of mercantile establishments and other matter used .in connection with the discount system, as will hereinafter appear.

Upon the outer face of the front sheet or section 5 of the card may be printed or otherwise placed the following: No. Issued by 'Fothe blank spaces to be filled, respectively, with the number of the pass-book, the name of-the bank issuing the same, and the name of the holder of the passbook. The number of the card will correspond with that of the book, it being understood that one of these cards is presented to each depositor with his book, or the outer face of said sheet 5 may be left blank and the data just mentioned written in. The inner face of the sheet 5 has a long space in which may be printed the conditions under which the card is issued, headed by the name of the bank and to be signed by the holder. These conditions may varyin different localities, and as theyform no part of the invention they are not herein enumerated 0r shown.

In somecases the sheet may be dispensed with, and all or part of the matter appearing thereon can be placed upon the sheet ,or if the sheet 5 be present it may bear matter other than that mentioned, these being matters of taste.

Upon the inner face of the back or main sheet 6 appear at '7 the name of the mercantile establishments in the three-party compact or trading system. These may be arranged in any suitable manner. j They are illustrated as being in column order longitudinally of the card.

In the present case the tradespeople, firms, corporations, 85e., under my cooperative system offer certain rates of discount for cash IOO Y than when it is low.

payments for goods sold to the holders of the cards, and these rates of discount may be located in any suitable position; but in order to avoid confusion they preferably'follow the names of the respective tradespeople, firms, corporations, duc. Arranged in juxtaposition to these names are set forth the character of goods or merchandise sold thereby, so as to aid acard-holder in making purchases. This advertises the merchants. The mercantile names are arranged centrally of the sheet on which they appear, and at opposite sides of the same are eolu mns of gures each denoted by 8, arranged in groups, the numbers in each group or line being in serial order. Over these columns of gures, respectively, appears the caption Discount rates. These serially-arranged numbers indicate the proportion ot the rate of interest to which the holder of a card is entitled, and this proportion varies with the amount of deposit the card-holder has in bank. lVhen his deposit is high, he is entitled to a greater proportion The figures in these groups are shown as running from ll to 4; but this may, it' desired, be materially changed. Each time a card-holder makes a deposit one number in a group is punched or otherwise marked or checked to indicate the proportion of discount. Thus if the number 4 be punched it will indicate to the merchants that the holder is entitled to the full rate of discount oiered by them. If

y the number 3 be punched, this shows that he is entitled to three-fourths of such `rate of discount, andso on. As soon as a card-holder makes a deposit one of the numbers in a groupis punched or canceled in some other Way. Letit be assumed that a card-holderhas purchased dry goods from the first merchant on the list, who allows six per cent. discount for cash. The merchant Will require the discount-card, and on examining the last group of ligures in which one of the latter has been punched he will see that the number 2, for example, has been punched. This will indicate that the purchaser is entitled to twofourths or one-half ot' the six per cent. discount. The rates of discount ot' the different merchants may vary or possibly may be the same; but the proportion of the respective discounts will be governed by the amount of deposit the card-holder or depositor has in bank. The rows or groups of figures are progressively used, commencing, naturally, With the rst, and by looking at the last line in which a punched or otherwise-marked numeral appears the proportion of discount to which a card-holder is entitled can be seen at once. The discou nt-card can be used with any savings-bank book, and it will last as long as the latter. It can be employed without changing the pass-books already in use in a bank. l

One card only is necessary, regardless of the changes in balance by a depositor, the

fluctuations of these being indicated by the card.

The card is simple and can be produced in large lots at a low figure.

The use of the card is equally beneficial to bankers, depositors, and merchants. Depositors can secure substantial deductions on cash purchases by maintaining their accounts at a high gu re. This increases the total deposits in bank. The bank will add toits depositors by the advertising received from the cards, and the latter will apply to the merchants, who, in addition, receive cash for all sales made under the syst-em.

The device possesses other advantages which are notnecessary to set forth; but they will be, obvious to prospective users of the same.

I do not, of course, limit theinvention to the kind of card nor to the arrangement nor character of matter thereon, for as to these and other matters material departures may be made.

The space above the names ofthe merchants and their rates may be occupied by the letters A B C, duc., or other symbols may be employed, bracketed and entitled Glass, to indicate the merchants, which letters are followed by the rates of discount offered by the respective merchants for cash payments.

Having described my invention, what I claim isl. A card of the class described bearing the names of business houses, symbols indicating rates of per cent. associated therewith, and numbers arranged in groups, the same numbers being in each group and the numbers inv each group being serially arranged.

2. A card of the class described bearing the names of business houses, symbols indicating rates of per cent. associated therewith, and numbers arranged in groups in column order at each side ot' said names, the same numbers being in each group and the numbers in each group being serially arranged.

3. A plurality of sheets bound together, one of which bears the names of business houses, symbols indicating rates of per cent. associated therewith, and numbers arranged in groups, the same numbers being in each group and the numbers in each group being serially arranged.

4. A card of the class described bearing the names of business houses, symbols indicating rates of per cent. associated therewith, and numbers of dierent values arranged in groups, the same numbers being Lin each group.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES J. HUBER.

Witnesses:

OTTO ANDERSON, R. L. BENTLEY.

IIO 

